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Servi-car Box

The original Harley trike was designed primarily for automotive mechanics, so the Servi-Car box offered plenty of room for tools and supplies needed for house calls and road-side assistance. The top lid was lockable, and the flat rear panel was perfect for advertising.

This article covers the 1942-1966 metal Servi-car box, which measures 48" wide, 33" long and 12" deep.
The width without the two fenders is 26".

From the first-year Servi-cars of 1932 up until 1941, the steel cargo box could be either small or large.
This changed in 1942, when the two different size boxes were replaced with one intermediate-sized box. These were seen until 1967, when the fiberglass box was introduced.

The 1942-1966 Servi-car box was manufactured for Harley-Davidson by the Chas. Abresch Co.
of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A gold, red, and black water transfer decal from this company was located inside the cargo box lid on 1951 and up Servi-cars.

Servi-car Box Frame and Springs

The cargo box mounts onto a squarish metal frame which is cushioned by two coil springs.
The springs are the same left and right and attach to the bottom of the box frame with a bolt.
There are two bolts washers (one on top, one on bottom) that sit inside the springs that mounts them.

Servi-car Box Floor

The 1942-1966 cargo boxes have a wooden floor, which was about nine planks of tongue-and-groove pine, and usually painted over from the factory.
Carriage bolts with square nuts and washers were used to hold the box frame to the box and shock mounts.

Servi-car Rear Shocks and Mounts

Replacement shock absorbers for Harley-Davidson Servi-cars are presently still available. They will replace your old shocks on 1942 to 1973 trikes and have the same eyelet dimensions and compressed length as original. They will also work on a 1932 to 1941 models that have been retro-fitted with 1942-1973 shock brackets.

The lower shock brackets (one left, one right) bolt to the Servi-car rear axle and fit 1942-73 Servi-cars.
The dwindling availability of good used ones has brought about their remanufacture.

Servi-car Tie Bar

The tie bar connects the left and right leaf springs to the box frame.
The tie bar assembly includes bar, two springs, two clamps, bushing, two hex nuts, two lock plates, two clamp bolts,
two 7/16" nuts with lock washers. These fit 1941-1973 Servi-cars.

Servi-car Rear Fenders

1942-1954 fenders were slightly different from later 1955-1966 fenders.
Rear fenders attach to each side of the cargo box with 1/4" nuts, bolts, and washers.
Harley trikes from 1947 to 1954 had tombstone-shaped tail lamps, 1955 to 1966 trikes had the rectangle versions.

I was lucky to have found this cargo box for my 1961 Harley Servi-car restoration.
It was originally from the New Orleans police department (notice the cut-out for the radio) and had been in storage for over 25 years.
After thinking about it for a long while, I decided to repaint it light blue and black.

Cargo Box Alternatives

Original Servi-car boxes in any condition are expensive and hard to come by.
Several companies on the internet advertise new steel replacement boxes anywhere from $1,800 to $2,500 plus shipping.
Fenders are not included.
An original or aftermarket box would be nice, but consider alternatives, like a custom wooden bed, a cooler, a freezer, a bench seat facing backwards, etc.